Aug. 1, 1911 



473 



The most common, probably, is that they are then 

 queenless. However, they are likely to roar some- 

 times if other conditions are not just right; but 

 without further particulars we could not say just 

 what caused the roaring you speak of.— Ed.] 



Honey-dew this Season. 



Fruit-bloom was immense last spring. I had a 

 good many sections filled from that and hard ma- 

 ple. Clover is all dried up, but we had a five- 

 weeks" flow of honey-dew like the one we had two 

 years ago, which gave nie toward 2000 sections and 

 about 50 gallons of extracted. The quality is much 

 better than It was two years ago. The aphides 

 were on the chestnut-trees this year. I am sur- 

 prised that you do not say any thing about this in 

 your report. It is hardly possible that they were 

 only in this neck of the woods. Basswood lasted 

 only about a week — too dry and hot to secrete nec- 

 tar. 



Trail, O., July 8. Amos Miller. 



[There have been several reports lately of honey- 

 dew again this year: but either the aphides are not 

 in as great numbers as they were two years ago or 

 else there is enough honey coming in at the same 

 time from natural sources to keep the bees from 

 bringing in the black rank stufJ. — Ed.] 



No Eggs, and Hive Honey-bound. 



On going through the hive from which our swarm 

 came three weeks ago to-day we find no evidence 

 of brood. We saw the queen, so we know that that 

 is not the trouble. An old bee-man went through 

 the hive for me, and is at a loss to know where the 

 trouble lies. The bees are filling every portion of 

 the frames with honey. 



Westerville, O., July 1. Lizzie J. McCalmont. 



[It is our opinion that your hive is honey-bound. 

 In other words, so large an amount of honey has 

 been coming in within the last few days that the 

 bees have used every available cell, crowding the 

 queen out entirely. We sometimes see this condi- 

 tion; but as a general thing you will find here and 

 there a few scattering eggs and young larvte. Aft- 

 er the honey-flow is over, you will probably find 

 that the queen will begin to lay a few eggs, al- 

 though, after the main flow, she sometimes lets up 

 to such an extent that few or no eggs and very lit- 

 tle brood will be found. — Ed.] 



Queen Lays Two to Five Eggs in a Cell. 



Can you tell me why a queen lays more than one 

 egg in a cell? 1 have a queen In a four-frame nu- 

 cleus. She is three or four years old. She is laying 

 from one to a dozen eggs in a cell. The most of the 

 cells have more than one egg in them. I notice 

 that there are from two to five bees hatched in a 

 great many of the cells: but after they are three or 

 four days old, all but one are removed. Do the 

 bees remove all but one, or what does become of 

 them? I have been using the brood to strengthen 

 other colonies as fast as It was capped over. That 

 leaves them weak in bees. Is it on account of the 

 colony being weak in bees, or is she failing on ac- 

 count of her age? She looks strong and healthy. 



Spring City, Pa., May 27. C. I. Grubb. 



[Usually when a queen lays more than one egg in 

 a cell it indicates that she has not enough cell room 

 for laying. However, in the case of the queen you 

 mention it is possible that she is falling, as you say 

 she is three or four years old. If the queen has 

 plenty of room, and if there are bees enough to 

 cover what brood she has, then we would certainly 

 supersede her if we were in your place unless con- 

 ditions are better.— Ed.] 



Removing Bees from a Chimney. 



What plan can 1 take to get bees out of a chim- 

 ney M'lthout tearing it down— also to save bees and 

 honey? 



Livingston, N. J. J. H. Terhun.e. 



[In our judgment there Is no way by which you 

 can take the bees and honey ovitof thechimney with - 

 out destroying the bees or doing some damage to 

 the chimney. If the bees are passing into the 

 chimney through a small opening on one side you 

 can put a bee-escape on the outside, and in the 

 course of a short time have the majority of the 

 bees outside of the chimney. The bees may then 

 be hived ; but there will be the brood and the 



young bees inside the chimney yet. So, taking it 

 all in all, we would imagine the chimney to he of 

 more value than the bees. If you wish to destroy 

 them, combs and all, build a hot fire in the stove 

 or furnace, using some kerosene to Ignite the soot 

 in the chimney. In other words, " burn out " the 

 chlmnej\ — Ed.] 



The Capping-melter Advocated. 



After a season's work with a capping-melter I 

 have come to the conclusion that It is a contriv- 

 ance that is indispensable to the producer of ex- 

 tracted honey, and I think the investment will be 

 profitable for the extensive honey-producer, and 

 also for the bee-keeper with only forty or fifty colo- 

 nies. By using the melter we procure the last par- 

 ticle of hone.v from our cappings, which, b.v any 

 other method, is difficult. There are no cappings 

 in the way, or to bother with after the day's ex- 

 tracting is over. 



When the cappings are standing around to drain, 

 there is always a possibility that ants will find 

 them. 



My experience indicates that the capping-melter 

 will be in general use as ,soon as the bee-keeping 

 community is convinced that it is a necessity In a 

 modern apiary. 



It has been claimed that the hoaey will be discol- 

 ored. This is true. The color is slightly affected 

 when the melter has a sieve made of fine copper 

 screen; but by using a coarser screen the trouble is 

 nearly overcome . 



Eluiendorf, Texas. A. L. Hartl. 



Boiling with Lye to Remove Propolis ; does it Hurt 

 the Bees? 



We sometirHes boil brood-frames, that have been 

 used, in a strong solution of lye. This done, we 

 give them to the bees when there is still some of 

 the lye upon them mixed with propolis. Is there 

 any danger that the bees may be injured by remov- 

 ing the lye and propolis? W. H. Littlejohn. 



Battle Creek, Mich., June 22. 



[Dr. C. C. Miller, of Marengo, 111., boils his wood- 

 en separators that are daubed witti propolis in a 

 strong solution of lye and hot watf-r. He has never 

 reported that there was any trouble to the bees 

 from the use of such separators, and we do not see 

 any reason why there should be to brood-frames so 

 treated. — Ed.] 



What Becomes of the Old Queen when a Colony 

 Supersedes. 



A fellow bee-keeper and myself had an argument 

 as to what becomes of the old queen when a colony 

 supersedes her — whether she goes with the colony 

 until she dies, or the bees kill her, or the young 

 queen. D. D. S. 



[You have put up to us a rather hard pi'oposi- 

 tion. In fact, so far as we know no one can tell def- 

 initely whether the young queen destroys her own 

 mother, whether the bees do it, or whether the old 

 queen just dies of old age. As a general thing, it is 

 our opinion that the old queen simply wears out 

 and dies. But in case she does not, apparently the 

 young queen or the bees take a hand in It. for it is 

 very seldom that we find mother and daughter in 

 the hive after the first of .September In our North- 

 ern States. Just when the old queen disappears in 

 the Southern States we are unable to say.— Ed.] 



Another who Prefers the Caucasians. 



I am very glad to see you have at last said a good 

 word for the Caucasian bee. With me they have 

 proven better than the Italians. My best colony 

 gave me nearly twice the honey last year that the 

 Italians did, and they are now ahead again this 

 year. 1 find them to be gentler than the Italians. 

 I use very little smoke and never wear a veil, and 

 seldom get a sting. The ones I have show yellow: 

 otherwise 1 can hardly tell them from the common 

 Carniolans. 



The Caucasian and Carniolan bees did not swarm 

 at all this spring with me; but the Italians had the 

 swarming fever very bad. We had just about hon- 

 ey enough coming in from the middle of March to 

 the 10th of May to keep brood-rearing going at full 

 blast. 1 had one queen that kept 18 standard L. 

 frames and 8 shallow-sui^er frames full of brood un- 

 til I cut her down to 10 L. frames with honey-board, 

 yet that colony did not swarm. 



Sabinal, Texas. W. C. Edward.s. 



